FAQ/Additional Info

Take time to plan your wardrobe ahead of time.  See tips for what to wear.   If you want feedback, take a photo of your clothing choice and send it to me.  I am here to help.  For children, try to ensure everyone is well rested and fed.  Bring along snacks if needed, just be sure they are not going to be too messy and stain clothing or get stuck in teeth.  If you want to include something special in your photographs, bring it.  If your child plays soccer, bring their ball. If the baby has a special stuffed animal, bring it.     

Anything you want really!  But here are a few tips.  For out door photographs, dress comfortably and appropriately for the weather.  Wear something that makes you feel confident and that you can move around comfortably in.  Choose outfits that are dressier than normal, but not too formal that they look out of place in an outdoor setting. Flowing dresses are always nice on girls. Earthy colors and pastels look particularly great.  Simple floral patterns and thick stripes work well, but try to balance them out with plenty of solid colors.  Harmonize your families outfits so they go well together, but not so well matched that they all blend all together.   Avoid pure white and solid  black, geometric patterns, busy or intricate patterns, bold or neon colors, logos or words.  Creams, beiges, and tans mixed with some pops of colors photograph well.  Try to avoid too much green so you don't blend into the background. Add in some simple accessories and lots of textures when possible.  Laces and knits can add lots of interest to your portraits.  Bring along a knitted wrap, sweater, or floppy sunhat  to give the same outfit a different look. Don't forget the shoes.  Avoid gym shoes, especially if they have bright neon soles that will stick out like a sore thumb.   

During your session, we will get some photographs of everyone together looking at the camera, but we will also do many candid shots of your family interacting and playing with each other.  A great family portrait is not usually the one where everyone looks right at the camera and says cheese.  We will also get some individual portraits of each family member.  Expect that you will be sitting or even laying on the ground for some poses.  I do bring a couple blankets for you.  

Your images are shot in a raw format and will require editing that takes time.  You can expect your images to be ready to view within 2 weeks, but frequently, they are ready after just a few days.  I will contact you by email or text with instructions to view and download them.  Print orders take about 2 weeks to get back.   

Images should be organized in the order that you want them to be scanned.  All photographs need to be clean and free of any sticky residue on the face of them.  You do not need to remove photographs from albums as long as they are in the order you wish for them to be scanned, but be advised that the clear cellophane does need to be peeled back in order to scan and it often does not stick well afterwards. The images are saved to a USB drive or can be made available to you for digital download.  For an additional fee, your images can be straightened and enhanced.  Editing can correct the colors in your picture, brighten it up, and remove the yellowing that often occurs with dated photographs, but it cannot correct an out of focus picture.  Your original photographs are returned to you.  A photo digitization project is time consuming, so please allow several weeks for small projects of less than 250 images and up to 6 weeks for large projects. If you need a project completed very quickly, please contact me directly. 

Simple slideshows of your digital photographs have basic transitions, no special effects, and no music. A slideshow movie has background colors often with a theme, many special effects, elaborate transitions, and background music. Slideshow movies are about 5 minutes long for every 50 images included.  For example, a 150 image slideshow will be about 15 minutes long.  The amount of songs included depends on the length of the songs chosen.  A 15 minute slideshow can typically accommodate 4 songs.  Images should be submitted in a digital form.  If you desire a slideshow movie of older paper photographs, you must first purchase a photo digitization package.  We will collaborate with you to determine the kind of theme, color choices, special quotes, and music you want to use. Please allow several weeks for small projects of less than 250 images and up to 6 weeks for large projects. 

Each photo restoration project is unique. Much is possible, but not everything can be fixed and results will vary depending on the kind of damage and what is available in the photograph to work with.  You may send a picture of your damaged photograph to get an idea of what can be done to restore it, but you will also need to submit the original photograph so that it can be scanned at the highest resolution possible.  The original will be returned to you and the restored image will be made available for digital download. Please allow 1-2 weeks for a photo restoration.